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Kenner to host replica of Vietnam War Memorial

Vietnam Wall replica to visit KennerBill Detweiler, a veteran and a member of the board of the WWII museum as well as a consultant to Kenner for the wall project, speaks of how veterans of the Vietnam War were treated.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington is a dark scar half-buried in the ground, its slabs of stone inscribed with more than 58,000 names. It does not travel easily.

But many who would benefit from its lesson of grief live far from Washington. Which is why, 30 years ago, the wall's creators built four half-scale replicas to travel the country.

From May 15 through 19, to commemorate Veterans Day, Kenner will host one of those replicas at Veterans Park. The city will hold an opening event on May 16, and a Marine Corps general will address the gathering. At 6 p.m., fifth graders will read winning essays from a Jefferson Parish-wide contest.

"This is a very historic occasion in the city of Kenner," Mayor Mike Yenni said.

A replica wall traveled to Metairie in 1993, where it sat at the Garden of Memories cemetery. But one has never visited Kenner.

That is why Arthur Tudela, a military veteran who lives in Kenner sought ways to bring the wall to his town. "It's hard to travel to Washington D.C., and it's expensive. I figured I'd bring the mountain to us," Tudela said.

In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, children touch The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall on April 10, 2014, in Key Largo, Fla. The Associated Press

"It's an opportunity for families who did lose somebody in Vietnam ... to come and remember," said Bill Detweiler, a veteran and National World War II board member who consulted for Kenner on the project.

The essay contest will be a welcome opportunity for students "to make meaningful connections to our Vietnam veterans," said RaeNell Houston, associate schools superintendent for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans.

The four replica walls are named the Traveling, Healing, Dignity and Moving walls. The one en route to Kenner is the Moving Wall, built in 1984.

Its visit will not be wholly impermanent. Tudela is raising money to install a plaque near the site so residents may always note its visit.